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A US Black Hawk helicopter swooped down on Burrell Boom Village today but it wasn’t any kind of tactical operation: it was a post-flood humanitarian mission. I went along and here’s how it went.

Jacqueline Godwin Reporting,
Here is a sight you rarely get to see in the skies above Belize one of the largest helicopters in the world the CH 47 Chinook primarily used by the United States Military to transport troops and supplies. But on this mission it brought some much needed medical assistance to the flood victims in the Belize District.

Today cameraman Alex Ellis and I were onboard as both the Chinook and the Black Hawk helicopters landed on the softball field in Burrell Boom Village where for one day the Community Centre was transformed into a health clinic. While from the air on our short flight over to the location we noticed that much of the flood waters had gone there was much activity on the ground as the Belize Defence Force brought in residents by the truck load to receive the free health care.

Anna Quiroz, Community Nurse - Burrell Boom Village
“We had a lot of asthma, we had a lot of flu cases, but the major thing was athletes foot.”

Elecief Lanza, 68 Year Old Resident - Isabella Bank
“Well I just came to let them check my heart and my lungs and then I have a numbness in my leg and coming to my back here.”

The flood has not only contributed to upper respiratory problems but most of the cases being treated are for skin infections. The infections are due mainly to bug bites that have taken a toll on the communities affected by the flood waters.

Marcia Pope, Resident - Burrell Boom Village
“It is more batlass than mosquitoes because my legs and I guess everybody that is living in this village, their skins are very very red with bumps and different things from the bites and when batlass bites you it itches your skin a lot so the cream will definitely help with the itching so that you don’t have to scratch.”

Anna Quiroz,
“A lot of children come up with sores because they scratch what we call batlass, some little black flies that bite you and then they leave the poison in the skin so it itches and the kid’s scratch. So Tuesday we treated sixty odd children from the school because it was very bad out at the school and we had to treat them with cortisone to stop the itching.”

Marcia Pope,
“We had a lot of flies and contamination of water and so forth and so in this way it helps the villagers a lot with medication and they get the cream for their feet where the batlass and so bites them and they give you vitamins for the kids and yourselves.”

Jacqueline Godwin,
You’re here because?

Marcia Pope,
“Well for both reasons. I get the cream that we needed to get to help the itching from the bite of the flies and for the vitamins and the assistance that they could give us.”

Herlett Clark, Resident - Rancho Dolores Village
“I noticed his eyes looked kind of yellow and I wanted to get some vitamins for him.”

Edwin Eduardo, 15 yr old Resident - Burrell Boom Village
“My head is hurting me. My head and my stomach and only that.”

Jacqueline Godwin,
Your mom was saying that your little brother as well may have stomach problems. You think this has to do with the recent waters that flooded your village?

Edwin Eduardo,
“I don’t know. I don’t really know.”

Jacqueline Godwin,
Have you been throwing up?

Edwin Eduardo,
“Yes.”

Jacqueline Godwin,
So no emergency cases as yet?

Capt. Tara Waddles, JTF - Bravo Sota Cano Air Base (Honduras)
“No not yet, not yet.”

Jacqueline Godwin,
You seem to be relieved.

Capt. Tara Waddles,
“No not really. We just want to make sure that we are providing the most services for everybody and that we are able to take care of everybody, that is our biggest thing. That ix our partnership, we want to make it better for everybody.”

The residents are not only being given medical supplies; they will also take back home tips on how to take proper care of their family especially after a flood event like what they experienced..

Nurse Kimberly Rodriquez, Assistant - Medical Team
“About chlorinating the water, how to do it, just preventative. He also explained to them that at this time after the flood, there are more micro-organisms, more bacteria so the water will become contaminated. So to look out for that, how to chlorinate.”

According to Matthew Doby, a pilot for the Black Hawk helicopter they are well equipped to handle all kinds of cases while on their humanitarian service to Belize.

Matthew Doby, Pilot - Blackhawk Helicopter
“We are capable of flying for about four or five hours with the amount of fuel we have. We are also capable of carrying 11 persons along with our crew so fifteen total and the Chunox, when we flew it yesterday, they were able of carrying 10,000 pounds plus another 13 persons. So we haul a lot up here and we can haul a lot of food and a lot of medical supplies to the place we’re going.”

Capt. Tara Waddles,
“Tomorrow and Saturday we’re going to be in Crooked Tree. We’re going to stay there for two days because the flooding over there was quite significant so we’re expecting a lot of people from a lot of the remote villages because they can’t get out on the roads or anything like that.

We actually come over here once or twice a year to perform ordinary MEDRETE but the Belizean Military Group Commander asked for us specifically because of the storm so we’re over here to provide basic medical care.”

Matthew Doby,
“It is good; I mean we train for all these things. You get flying around and landing in all types of places and to actually come out here and really help people out by dropping supplies and helping the children with medical supplies, it is really good.”

The residents say they are also grateful for the service because it has been difficult for them to access the health care.

Elecief Lanza,
“I go to a doctor in Belize but because of the flooding I didn’t trust to go because I didn’t feel so good. I had to take another appointment and still another appointment. I couldn’t even full it in because I was afraid of the flood you know.”

Herlett Clark,
“People won’t have the money to go to town and this is free. Maybe they might not have the money to buy medicines and things like that. So it is very good.”

Anna Quiroz,
“It is very good because up here in Boom we don’t have a doctor’s station at the medical center so when doctor comes the people make use of it, they get the treatment, who is sick.”

The Ministry of Health has also assisted with mobile visits twice a week in the Belize River Valley.